LINCOLN, ILL. (July 1, 2019) – With his 29th-career victory on Sunday night at Lincoln Speedway, Christopher Bell of Norman, Okla. moved within two wins of the late Bryan Clauson (31 wins) for second and sits only five wins behind Brad Loyet (34 wins) for the title of winningest driver in POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League history.
Although his full-time job with Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series keeps him plenty busy these days, Bell still finds time here and there to get back behind the wheel of a midget. Interestingly enough, Bell has never contested a full POWRi National Midget campaign in its entirety, yet is approaching the all-time wins record.
Paired with Keith Kunz-Curb Agajanian Motorsports, Bell racked up 21 victories over a three-year span from 2013-15 before scaling back to an even smaller schedule due to NASCAR duties. He scored three triumphs in both 2017 and 2018, and has picked up two wins in the five starts he has made this year, including his first win driving for Tucker-Boat Motorsports last night at Lincoln.
Sitting in third on the all-time wins list, Bell will first have to pass the late, great Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Ind., who collected 31 POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget victories before his iconic career was tragically short. Clauson’s POWRi win list stretches from his first victory at 19 years old in December of 2008 at Kemper Arena to his final triumph at Jacksonville Speedway in April of 2016.
Beyond Clauson is the winningest driver in POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League history, Brad Loyet of Sunset, Hills, Mo. at 34-career wins. A three-time champion, Loyet first broke through the win column in April of 2006, becoming a staple with the league over the six years. He returned in August of 2016 to extend his record to 34 wins with a victory at I-55 Raceway.
Rounding out the top ten on the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League all-time wins list is Brad Kuhn of Avon, Ind. in fourth at 22 wins, Zach Daum of Pocahontas, Ill. in fifth at 19 wins, Tanner Thorson of Minden, Nev. in sixth at 18 wins, Darren Hagen of Riverside, Calif. in seventh at 16 wins, Logan Seavey of Sutter, Calif. in eighth at 14 wins, Brett Anderson of Belleville, Ill. in ninth at 12 wins, and Tyler Thomas of Collinsville, Okla. in tenth at 12 wins.
Since the inception of the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League in 2005, a total of 376 features have been contested with 72 different winners.
POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League All-Time Wins List:
34 wins – Brad Loyet (Sunset Hills, Mo.)
31 wins – Bryan Clauson (Noblesville, Ind.)
29 wins – Christopher Bell (Norman, Okla.)
22 wins – Brad Kuhn (Avon, Ind.)
19 wins – Zach Daum (Pocahontas, Ill.)
18 wins – Tanner Thorson (Minden, Nev.)
16 wins – Darren Hagen (Riverside, Calif.)
14 wins – Logan Seavey (Sutter, Calif.)
12 wins – Brett Anderson (Belleville, Ill.)
12 wins – Tyler Thomas (Collinsville, Okla.)
11 wins – Jerry Coons Jr. (Tucson, Ariz.)
10 wins – Michael Pickens (Auckland, N.Z.)
10 wins – Rico Abreu (St. Helena, Calif.)
10 wins – Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, Ind.)
8 wins – Danny Stratton (Reading, Penn.)
7 wins – Mike Hess (Petersburg, Ill.)
7 wins – Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, Okla.)
7 wins – Andrew Felker (Carl Junction, Mo.)
6 wins – Tucker Klaasmeyer (Paola, Kans.)
5 wins – Brad Sweet (Grass Valley, Calif.)
5 wins – Austin Brown (Millstadt, Ill.)
4 wins – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Olive Branch, Miss.)
4 wins – Nick Knepper (Belleville, Ill.)
4 wins – Kyle Larson (Elk Grove, Calif.)
4 wins – Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, Ala.)
3 wins – Dave Darland (Lincoln, Ind.)
3 wins – Thomas Meseraull (San Jose, Calif.)
3 wins – Casey Shuman (Mesa, Ariz.)
3 wins – Kevin Swindell (Germantown, Tenn.)
3 wins – Scott Hatton (Sharon, Wisc.)
3 wins – Carson Macedo (Lemoore, Calif.)
2 wins – Donnie Lehmann
2 wins – Luke Icke (Littleton, Colo.)
2 wins – Steve Knepper (Belleville, Ill.)
2 wins – Aaron Fiscus (Fitchburg, Wisc.)
2 wins – Justin Allgaier (Riverton, Ill.)
2 wins – Justin Peck (Monrovia, Ind.)
2 wins – Jake Neuman (New Berlin, Ill.)
2 wins – Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, Calif.)
1 win – Craig Carey
1 win – Chad Farmer
1 win – Joey Montgomery
1 win – Davey Ray (Davenport, Iowa)
1 win – Josh Wise (Riverside, Calif.)
1 win – Tim Siner
1 win – Rik Forbes
1 win – Dustin Morgan (Owasso, Okla.)
1 win – Chad DeSelle
1 win – Keith Rauch
1 win – A.J. Fike (Galesburg, Ill.)
1 win – Bobby East (Torrance, Calif.)
1 win – Daniel Robinson (Ewing, Ill.)
1 win – Tracy Hines (New Castle, Ind.)
1 win – J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, Ariz.)
1 win – Tony Roney
1 win – Mario Clouser (Auburn, Ill.)
1 win – Jake Blackhurst (Farmington, Ill.)
1 win – Bubba Altig (Springfield, Ill.)
1 win – Tony Stewart (Columbus, Ind.)
1 win – Shane Cockrum (Benton, Ill.)
1 win – Terry Babb (Decatur, Ill.)
1 win – Chett Gehrke (Broken Arrow, Okla.)
1 win – Daryn Pittman (Owasso, Okla.)
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1 win – Joey Saldana (Brownsburg, Ind.)
1 win – Gage Walker (Indianapolis, Ind.)
1 win – Matt Sherrell (Owasso, Okla.)
1 win – Jason McDougal (Broken Arrow, Okla.)
1 win – Tyler Courtney (Indianapolis, Ind.)
1 win – Kyle Schuett (Philo, Ill.)
1 win – Ryan Robinson (Foresthill, Calif.)
1 win – Zeb Wise (Angola, Ind.)
1 win – Jonathan Beason (Broken Arrow, Okla.)